Of Trees and Puppies
by DancingWithPeacocks
Summary: A Mommy Dearest fic. Casey’s never experienced Christmas before. RJ’s going to fix that.


Title: Of Trees and Puppies

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: T

Disclaimer: All I own is the plot.

Words: 2851

Summary: Casey's never experienced Christmas before. RJ's going to fix that.

Spoilers: Finale spoilers.

Notes: A Christmas Mommy Dearest fic! Yay!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So," Casey started as he watched RJ struggle with dragging the large green object up the stairs, "you wanna run this by me just one more time?"

RJ gave the tree another tug and grimaced when he heard a yelp from the other side after the thing slid back some. "It's a Christmas tree."

The tiger nodded. "Yes, I get that. But why does it come inside?"

"You've really never celebrated Christmas, have you?" Fran asked from position on the counter. RJ sent her a glare when he noticed her sitting there and she slid off.

"Nope," Casey replied. "It's an earth holiday and I've never spent enough time on earth to celebrate it. I've seen others celebrate it though." At Fran's questioning look he continued. "I used to watch earth from Aunt Rita's telescope."

"Which is why we're going to make your first one here one to remember." The wolf master gave another yank only to get a reply of snapping branches. "I want you to push and turn clockwise when I say 'go'," RJ called out the person at the bottom of the stairs. "Ready… go!" There was a brief struggle followed by cursing. "No not your clockwise, my clockwise. Counter-clockwise for you."

There was muffled yelling from the other end that Casey couldn't make out RJ apparently could. He sighed and turned to Fran, who shrugged.

"I told him and Dominic that the tree was too big to fit up the stairs," she informed him.

Casey laughed. "I said the same thing when I first saw it."

"It'll fit." Came a voice from behind them.

The two turned to find Dominic practically bouncing up the stairs from the main area to the landing. His white long sleeve shirt was festive, with snowmen and snowflakes. Casey heard giggling from beside him and took a closer look. "Is your shirt… flashing?"

He grinned at them, poking at a particularly large snowflake on his chest. "Yep."

Dominic seemed particularly proud of his light-up shirt so Casey didn't say anything else. But he did grin when the rhino slipped his arm around Fran and pressed a kiss to her head. She replied by flushing.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" RJ growled down the stairwell. "I pull and you push."

There was an answer that sounded like either Jarrod was yelling 'Screw you!' or 'There's a cow!'. Casey guessed it was closer to the first one. "You two need some help?" he offered.

"No!"

"Fine."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Half an hour, much snickering, a cheetah, a jaguar, and a chameleon later the two had finally announced that the tree was truly stuck. It had even reached the point where Casey and Dominic had joined RJ at the top of the stairs while Theo, Lily, and Camille had gone downstairs to help Jarrod.

The tree didn't even budge.

By this time Fran was sitting on the floor, her laughter uncontrollable. The three were sending her looks of confusion and annoyance. "The mighty power rangers," she giggled, "defeated by a tree!"

"You could help, you know," Dominic said. He had somehow managed to sandwich himself between the tree and the wall in a desperate attempt to get it loose. Pine needles scratched his arms and his stomach where his shirt had ridden up.

"I know," she answered. "But this is much more fun." Fran grabbed another gingerbread cookie off of the plate on the counter and bit off its head.

There was muffled yelling from the other side of the tree followed what only could have been a yelp.

"You alright down there?" Casey yelled. There was an affirmative noise for an answer. There was another round of tugging and pulling that ended when Casey lost his grip and balance and fell backwards onto RJ.

But the tree moved forward about a foot causing Dominic to get a face full of needles. "Pluth," he spat.

RJ gave a groan as his tiger rolled off of him. "Ow." He sighed and looked over to his mate. "I don't think this is going to work. We're going to have to drag it back down and bring it up the back stairs."

Casey sent him an exasperated look. "You think?" He swiped at his shirt, trying to remove the sap and lingering pine needles. "Remind me why you didn't do that in the first place."

"Uh, guys?" Dominic's voice was wheezing, causing the two to turn and see a set flailing arms appear from the tree limbs. "A little help? I can't breathe."

"Oh."

After a brief struggle with the limbs they managed to extract a still gasping rhino from the branches.

"Thi- This isn't go-going to work-k." Dominic fell to the floor to catch his breath. Fran was by his side in a moment, trying desperately to stop laughing.

"I think we've established that." Casey jumped a little when he felt RJ's hand close over his wrist. He was still a little uncomfortable with the whole public touching thing even though the wolf used every chance he could to get into the tiger's personal space.

RJ leaned over the tree as far as he could and yelled, "We're going to have to pull it down."

"What?" Was the muffled reply.

"I said, pull it down!"

"What?"

"Pull it down!"

It was quiet down there for a few seconds before an 'okay' came back up. This time they tried it in reverse, pushing instead of pulling but the result was still the same.

"I think it's stuck," Someone said from downstairs.

"Now what?" Dominic looked over at Casey.

Casey just shrugged. "This was RJ's idea."

"Thanks." The wolf sent his mate a glare, which was replied with a cheeky grin. "Just let me think." He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes.

They all jumped when yelling was heard from below the tree. Then the noise went uncomfortably silent.

Dominic sent the others a hesitant look. "You don't think they've killed each other, do you?"

Casey snorted while Fran rolled her eyes and RJ shook his head.

Suddenly, a voice trailed up to the loft. "Theo has an idea." This was followed by a string of indistinguishable words that could have possibly been the idea.

"Um," Fran spoke, "Did I just hear him say 'chainsaw'?"

RJ just groaned as Casey began to laugh.

oOoOoOoOoOo

They did eventually manage to drag the tree up into the loft, after finally managing to wrestle the chainsaw from Theo. RJ and Dominic worked on getting the eight foot tree into the stand while Lily and Theo had disappeared to the garage on an ornament hunt. Jarrod was crashed out on a couch, nursing a sprained ankle he had acquired are almost being mowed down by the tree. Fran had been cornered by both Casey and Camille to try and explain the concept of mistletoe.

Camille grimaced as the eyed the plant in her hand. "So, you hang a poisonous plant from the ceiling and kiss under it?" She held it out for Casey.

"It's poisonous?" He paused mid-reach then pulled his hand back. "Is that safe?"

"It's not poisonous." Fran took back the mistletoe with a frown. "I think. Even if it is you're not supposed to eat it so it doesn't really matter."

"Is anyone else joining us for this holiday?" Camille asked them as she watched Fran try to balance on a chair and tie up the mistletoe at the same time. The chair wobbled slightly causing Fran give a yelp and tried to steady herself.

Casey gave a sigh and plucked her from the chair. All he got was a noise of protest in reply. He took the mistletoe from her and hopped up on the chair. It gave another unsteady shake but Casey had the plant tied and was off the chair before it could break. "Well," he answered the chameleon, "apparently RJ managed to get a hold of Master Swoop so he and my mother are coming." A thoughtful look came to his face soon to be replaced by disbelief as he tried to picture it. He shook his head. "So are Dallina and Sorani. I don't even know how he managed that one."

"Sorani?" It was asked in both excitement and alarm be the two.

"Don't worry," He reassured Camille. "Sorani's not going to try and kill you."

Camille sent him an unbelieving look. "She's not going to try and kill me?"

"Yes."

"And you're sure about this?"

"… no."

"Done!"

The three turned to find that RJ and Dom hand managed to get the tree upright. It tilted slightly but didn't seem like it was going to fall anytime soon. Lily and Theo were standing with them with several bags sitting by them. Dom was shorting through the bags before pulling out a string of lights with a sound of triumph.

It was only a few more hours before the tree was finally finished. Jarrod had woken up about the time the lights had gone up and had hobbled over to join them. It hadn't taken the rest of them long to finish it up.

Casey gave himself credit for not jumping when RJ grabbed him this time. A set of arms wrapped around his waist and a head came to rest on his shoulder.

"What do you think?"

The voice ghosted past his ear causing shivers to travel down his spine. The tiger let himself lean back into the touch, a smile gracing his lips when the wolf gave a 'murr' of pleasure. "It's very… pretty."

RJ tightened his arms around the waist and buried his face in the neck before him. His tiger squirmed in his arms for a moment before a hand trailed up and slid into his hair. Fingers brushed against his scalp causing his eyes to fall closed.

"Oooh… shiny."

The group turned to find a woman standing on the landing staring at the tree speculatively.

"Sorani!"

Sorani shot down the stairs and into her brother's arms. "Casey!" He picked her up and spun her around, moving out of the wolf's grasp. Laughter escaped her as she was set back down on her feet. She gave her brother a peck on the cheek and look past him. The grin on her face grew as she caught sight of someone. "Hello, Camille."

Camille tried to smile back before moving to stand behind Jarrod slightly. He rolled his eyes at her but didn't try and move.

"Play nice," Casey whispered in her ear.

"Always," Sorani giggled. She waved over at Theo, who turned several shades of red, and gave Fran a hug.

Dominic looked over at that the former blue ranger. "You alright over there?"

"… shut up."

Sorani turned to examine the tree again for a moment. It was a colorfully fascinating creation to her. She reached out to poke at a shiny silver ball. "So," She turned back to her brother and the wolf who had reattached himself to him, "what does it do?"

oOoOoOoOoOo

The arrival of Swoop and Scorpina two days later wasn't quite as dramatic. And Dallina's had been more startling than anything. No one had even really noticed her arrival until she decided to make her presence known. She had shown herself by looking over Casey's shoulder at the book he had been reading. The startled expression and shout of surprise had been worth it.

It hadn't been until Lily had announced that it was time to open the presents on Christmas Eve, a few days later, that there were any more surprises.

RJ handed his mate one of the presents that had accumulated under the tree. "It's from Karone."

Casey smiled as he took the red box. The former pink ranger had dropped off her presents for them a week before. He immediately tore into the wrapping. A moment later he pulled out a… "A book. How thoughtful?" Sorani peaked over his shoulder at the book and began to crack up. He took a closer look at the cover and immediately shoved it back in the box, wide eyed and blushing.

A curious look came over the wolf's face. He leaned forward and tried to pull up the lid of the box only to have his hand slapped away. "Hey!" His mate replied with a shake of the head as he buried the box underneath his pile of presents.

"Me next! Open mine next!" Sorani grabbed an irregular shaped box from beside her.

Taking the box from her, Casey frowned as he saw holes in the lid. The box shook slightly in response. RJ shuffled closer to him and poked at the box. Casey didn't blame him since he half expected the box to blow up if he opened it as well. He slid his fingers gingerly under the lid and had just begun to work it loose when a voice made him jump, accidently dropping the box.

"I love it!"

The tiger master turned in time to see Fran launch herself at his youngest sister. Sorani just laughed in response and hugged back.

"Uh, Casey?"

He turned at the sound of RJ's voice to see him looking vaguely alarmed. Following his gaze Casey saw what had caught the wolf master's attention. When he had dropped the box it seemed the lid had popped off, spilling its contents. "Oh, Sorani, you didn't."

"What?" Scorpina got up from her place on the couch. Coming to stand beside her son, she looked down. "Oh, my."

Dallina appeared beside her mother. "Is that a…?"

"A puppy!" Lily squealed. She bounced over to the group and knelt down beside the little creature.

It was small and black but the very tips of its ears was a redish-orange color. The creature stared up at the group curiously. Then it moved.

"Hey!" Camille jumped up from the floor as the puppy launched itself at her ponytail. It looked up at her with its head tilted slightly before jumping up to try to make another grab for it. "No! No… no!"

Casey finally reached over and plucked it up from the floor. The puppy gave a startled look, staring up at Casey. Casey just stared back. A few moments later the puppy apparently became happy with whatever it found in Casey's expression because it gave a yawn and closed it eyes. He sent Sorani (who looked way too pleased at herself) a look of exasperation. "Seriously Sorani. A hellhound?"

"You don't like it?" Sorani pouted as she reached forward to pet the puppy. She had seriously thought her brother would like the surprise. Casey had always wanted a pet.

The tiger looked down at the animal in his grasp before sighing. "Of course I do. But… a hellhound?"

"A hellhound?" Jarrod repeated as looked at the puppy, inquisitively. "So it's not a dog."

Surprisingly, it was Scorpina who answered. "It is a dog, just a very rare one. Especially now a days. They're extremely loyal and protective. But they are also vicious. Meat-eaters and they don't discriminate what, or who, they eat. Dark Specter used to use them to kill prisoners when he was feeling particularly sadistic. They'd eat them alive."

"It's dangerous?" Swoop stepped forward, concerned. "Will it hurt them?"

Sorani shook her head. "Nope. Not dangerous. Completely loyal to Casey. And RJ," she added as almost an afterthought.

"What do you think?" Casey asked RJ.

RJ pulled the animal out of his mate's grasp. It gave him a look of irritation before yawning again, showing off some extremely pointy teeth. Its orange-gold eyes stared back at him. "I like him." He pulled the animal in close and scratched him behind the ear. The puppy enjoyed the attention for a moment before squirming to be let down.

Casey grinned as the puppy proceeded to attack at particularly large wad of wrapping paper. "Him?" He got a confirming nod from his little sister. "So," he turned back to the wolf, "he can stay?"

"Of course." RJ slid and arm around his mate and pressed his kiss to his neck. He got a squirm and a laugh in response.

There was a loud 'yep' and a crash and the group turned in time to see another pile of presents come crashing to the ground. Then the presents began moving and the puppy popped out, bouncing out of the pile. He shot forward and plopped down at Casey's feet.

"Aw." Fran reached down to pet him, followed by Lily. The puppy just glanced up at them lazily. "So what are you going to name him?"

"I think… Arden," Casey replied.

"Arden?" RJ raised his eyebrows.

The tiger nodded. "I like Arden."

"Arden, it is."

"Um, guys?"

The two turned to look at Theo.

Theo rolled his eyes. "Don't look now, but I think your new puppy's trying to eat RJ's chair."

They turned to find that Arden had apparently abandoned he two women and was, in fact, currently gnawing away at the green recliner.

"No!"

"Bad puppy!"

"Oh," Sorani piped in, amused, "I guess I forgot to mention that he's teething then?"


End file.
